Light Rail Leading the Way in the Sun Belt

"Rail tracks are being laid in the unlikeliest of places," according to an article by William Fulton and Kyle Shelton. The unlikely places, according to the column, are found all over the Sun Belt—from Phoenix to Houston to Los Angeles to Denver.

The question Fulton and Shelton endeavor to answer: "What explains all this construction, especially in the traditionally auto-oriented South and West?" The short version of their answer: "Light rail is a lot faster than a bus, but doesn't cost nearly as much to build as a subway."

From a planning perspective, light rail lines represent "only one aspect of broader efforts to solve the public transportation puzzle," according to Fulton and Shelton. "Cities are increasingly connecting light rail lines with major nodes of activity and other transportation modes such as expanded express bus services or bike lanes."

The article includes a lot more details about how cities are approaching their new light rail lines, how they fit into larger planning and transportation considerations, and how light rail's detractors argue against such investments.